This invention relates to the art involving maintenance means or holders for relatively long pieces of cord or ropes as, for example, an extension cord.
Heretofore, there has been a recognized problem in maintaining extension cords or items similar thereto in a secure and compact fashion. As a result of the length of the cord, it is of course difficult to maintain it neatly and yet available for the purposes intended. There have been many proposals to provide equipment for maintaining such cords or lines in position around holding means.
U.S. Pat. No. 605,607 provides a clothes line holder comprising parallel side bars united together by stretchers with a panel intermediate the stretchers. U.S. Pat. No. 622,855 shows a clothes line reel consisting of two side strips of flattened wire or metal bars having four holes formed therein. A single piece of wire is passed through these holes bent to form curved sections lying between the side stretchers with a handle portion being provided exteriorly of one of the side strips. U.S. Pat. No. 1,035,825 provides a single strand of wire bent upon itself into a form for maintaining wash lines. U.S. Pat. No. 1,540,244 also shows a single piece of metal set forth as preferably formed from a single length of stout wire for a clothes line reel. The wire is bent upon itself to form recessed portions at both ends and provided with a handle portion. U.S. Pat. No. 3,817,471 provides a line holder having U-shaped portions at both ends with indentations in one of the end edges for holding the line wrapped endwise around the holder. U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,819 shows an extension cord holder with a central tubular main body portion around which the cord is to be wrapped between two diametrically opposed flanges.
Thus it may be seen that because of the nature of the art, various modifications of certain basic structure have been provided and each in turn has been deemed significant enough to be patentable despite the apparent simplicity thereof. None of the foregoing, however, provide a single unitary structure made of relatively light material provided with cross members which are reinforced to prevent breaking or buckling of the unit under the pressures which may be exerted. In addition, none of the foregoing disclosures provide a handle means integral with the remainder of the unit in which the portions of the handle connecting to the side walls of the holder are also reinforced by structure to prevent breakage.
In addition, the foregoing prior art in no way discloses means integral with the holder itself for maintaining the holder in position for storage. They also do not show the provision of means for maintaining and locking the connecting male and female members of the extension cord holder in position. As a consequence, a full and complete cord or line holder has not been provided heretofore in an economical fashion with suitable means to prevent breakage; to maintain the holder in position; and to secure the ends of the extension cord when the holder is stored.